Not this time, Spock
by Rosa Clearwater
Summary: For the fourth time that day Spock was taken by surprised.


"Doctor this treatment is unwarranted I assure you-"

"Be quiet you green hobgoblin!" 

"Bones-" 

"As I was saying Doctor, it is unnecessary and tedious. A few hours and-" 

"Where's your specific numbers, Spock? Don't even have a rough estimate? I'll tell you why: a man's not meant to be mentally tortured for hours and the strain of-" 

"You are correct, doctor. I, however, am a Vulcan not a human. I assure you, Captain, meditation is all I require." The normal rigidity of Spock's stance was currently lacking and he was noticeably slouching, even if it was only a minuscule amount. It was testament to his horribly hidden exhaustion as his hands tightened and shook ever so slightly behind his back. 

Sick bay was empty and the trio was standing two against one. However, McCoy's exasperated stance was something Kirk's did not mirror; he merely crossed his arms in a concerned fashion whille a small frown formed on his face. 

"Spock, are you sure you're alright?" 

"Indeed, captain." But instead of an aloof Vulcan attitude there was another emotion peeking out from Spock's eyes: guilt. 

"Well Mr. Spock, any physical injuries?" 

"None worth reporting, Captain." 

"Jim, I still want to get a look at him. He just came back from that hellhole." There was a pause, as Kirk scrutinized his Science Officer, before speaking. 

"I'm sorry... Mr. Spock, but Doctor's Orders." 

"Captain-" 

"You heard him Spock," but instead of sounding gleeful, he sounded more concerned. "Now you can sit down here or I can hypo you, whichever you prefer."

Jim nodded his goodbye before exiting the Sick Bay. McCoy left the room briefly to grab something from his office and Spock was left to himself for a few moments.

While he was waiting for the Doctor to come bustling in and grumbling like an irate bear, or perhaps a sehlat, Spock tried to regain himself and control his mind to prove he really had no purpose here, that he was quite fine as he said. Unfortunately, meditation seemed fruitless and more exhausting if anything as today's events would merely mockingly repeat themselves over and over regardless of how hard he concentrated.

"Is that the Vulcan equivalent of moping, Mr. Spock?" A calm voice asked him that broke the silence. He looked up, surprised at the intrusion and confused by his unexpected lack of awareness.

"I assure you, doctor, it is nothing of the kind. Vulcans do not mope."

"But you're half-human Spock!" This verbal jab had him pause for a moment. Normally such a comment wouldn't even brush up against his walls but after today's events Spock's walls were beginning to crumble. He needed to rest, or at the very least attempt meditation back in his quarters. He attempted to rise up from the bio-bed but McCoy forced him back down.

"You were tortured for hours, Spock. No physical trace may be there but the mind is a delicate thing, even the Vulcan one." Gone was the Doctor's angry tone replaced by a blunt, almost scientific one. "to top it off when Lieutenant Williamson took that shot for you, it undoubtedly caused you guilt." Spock mentally flinched at the reminder "Now I don't care what you say about your damn emotions. Any normal person would be shattered to pieces right now, Vulcan or not, and what you need is sleep. Not rest, sleep." He emphasized this by inserting the hypo he had sneaked over while Spock was distracted. He pushed the hypo in more gently than normal and internally frowned when Spock seemed so _human_ for a moment, eyes reflecting betrayal.

"Doctor," he managed to slur out in protest. But that would be the last thing he'd say for a while.

For the fourth time that day Spock was taken by surprised. He was astonished by the fact that he had apparently been so distracted he didn't hear McCoy prepare the hypo in advance. His head began to fill with a mind-fogging sand that surrounded his thoughts until they escaped his loose grasp. A sudden heaviness took over in quick waves slamming his conscious down as kind but firm hands guided him backwards onto the soft bio-bed. Equilibrium was currently lost and discombobulation hit as Spock desperately tried to focused but nothing was working, everything was wrong, senses weren't functioning, just like when-

"Nice and easy, Spock. Just take a breather from logic."

A soft voice invaded his mind, yet it was a _welcomed_ presence. He capitulated thoughts and facts and logic, and immediately was transfixed in a deep healing trance. McCoy stared silently down at the relaxed sleeping form, almost in sadness. He felt a rare moment of reminiscence at the scene.

"You can't feel guilty and you can't take responsibility. Not this time, Spock." 

Fin

If there is confusion over anything:  
This isn't an episode-based moment, it's on one of those adventures not on the show (but one I made up instead). And yes, I totally stole that last line from The Empath (probably one of my favorite scenes/episodes of all time 3 )  
This is after Galileo Seven, else Spock wouldn't have been in charged at all on the planet.  
And I'm not going into detail about what exactly happened, that's up to you ;) (aka I just thought up this moment and had to write it but I haven't really thought up the "prequel" to this little drabble xD).  
Oh and the reason Kirk is in sick bay is because when Spock returns to the planet, after all that he went through, Kirk wanted to make sure Spock actually showed up to sick bay instead of just "shaking it off".  
Oh and this isn't meant to be Spones, but I've no qualms about people seeing it that way ;)  
Oh anndd **I do no own Star Trek or the characters of TOS.**


End file.
